Lions and WP doing battle on two fronts in Hollywoodbets Pro Series

Cricket SA
1 hour ago
3 min read

WSB Western Province Captain, Leah Jones with DP World Lions Hollywoodbets Pro20 Captain, Raisibe Ntozakhe.

The DP World Lions Ladies will head to Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium this weekend with the chance to cap another impressive domestic campaign when they face WSB Western Province Women in the Hollywoodbets Pro Series finals.

The two sides will contest the Hollywoodbets Pro20 final at 6pm on Friday before meeting again in the Hollywoodbets Pro50 final at 10am on Sunday, bringing together two of the most consistent teams across both competitions this season.

Lions Pro50 captain Kgomotso Rapoo says that it's an unprecedented weekend of action coming up for both them and Western Province.

"It's really exciting to be able to contest both finals this weekend," Rapoo said. "It's never happened in our women's space before and it's a huge honour to get this far.

"We've worked really hard behind the scenes and the girls are in a good space going into the weekend."

Not only is it a big weekend from a cricket perspective for the Lions ladies but there will be a handful that will be experiencing a night game for the first time.

"A few of the girls haven't played under lights before so that is a really exciting experience to look forward to. We've prepped well under the lights in Johannesburg this week and we can't wait to get going."

The Lions have enjoyed another strong campaign across the Pro Series, showing balance with both bat and ball as they pushed their way into both finals. Their performances in the 50-over competition were particularly impressive, where they remained among the leading sides on the standings through the season and produced a number of commanding victories along the way.

One of their most notable performances came in Durban earlier in the competition when the Lions defeated the Hollywoodbets Dolphins by 102 runs, underlining the strength of their batting line-up and their ability to defend totals under pressure.

The Johannesburg-based side have consistent as a team across both competitions with no stand-outs from a batting perspective. Jenna Evans has led the way with the bat scoring 241 runs in the Pro50 while Sunette Viljoen-Louw has been their best batter in the Pro20 with two half centuries.

Relebohile Mkhize has been the Lions' best bowler in the Pro20 competition with 10 wickets at an economy rate of just over four runs to the over. The Pro20 skipper, Raisibe Ntozakhe has also picked up 10 wickets in the 20 over competition.

Ntozakhe has been the best Lions bowler in the Pro50 with 10 wickets in that competition as well while Mkhize is one behind her with nine wickets.

The Lions’ bowling unit has consistently backed up the batting efforts, regularly restricting opponents and maintaining pressure through disciplined spells across both formats. Their ability to take wickets in the middle overs has been particularly important in tight matches throughout the campaign.

That consistency has helped the Lions position themselves for another shot at silverware. Having lifted the inaugural Hollywoodbets Pro50 title last season, the Johannesburg outfit will be eager to add further trophies when the finals take place in Durban.

Standing in their way will be a confident Western Province side, setting up what promises to be a tightly contested end to the domestic season.

With both teams showing strong form throughout the campaign, the stage is set for a compelling Pro Series finals weekend at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead.

Fans can follow the finals action live on SuperSport (Channel 199).